Print edition: 
WASHINGTON — In a preview of his speech next week announcing his plan to send more than 30,000 additional U.S. troops to Afghanistan, President Obama on Tuesday vowed that he'll "finish the job" of stabilizing the country and destroying the al-Qaida terrorism network.
"It is in our strategic interest, in our national security interest to make sure that al-Qaida and its extremist allies cannot operate effectively in those areas," Obama said. "We are going to dismantle and degrade their capabilities and ultimately dismantle and destroy their networks."
"After eight years — some of those years in which we did not have... either the resources or the strategy to get the job done — it is my intention to finish the job," Obama asserted during a White House news conference with visiting Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.
Obama on Tuesday declined to provide any specifics about his plan, including the size of a U.S. military buildup, how he proposes to pay for it or how he intends to end U.S. engagement in Afghanistan, which is now in its ninth year.
McClatchy reported Monday that Obama and his national security team had finalized a plan to send an additional 34,000 U.S. soldiers and Marines to Afghanistan in phases, beginning in March and ending at the close of 2010.
The plan contains "decision points" at which the administration will reassess the situation in Afghanistan, U.S. officials said. It could decide, depending on how much military or political progress had been made, to continue sending the additional forces, end the flow and adopt a more limited strategy, or begin planning a withdrawal, they said.
Obama said that in addition to the military campaign, his "comprehensive strategy" for Afghanistan also would include civilian and diplomatic components.
The strategy, the officials told McClatchy, is to couple the troop increase with greater anti-corruption efforts, political reforms, redoubled aid programs and expanded Afghan security forces, in an effort to weaken the Taliban-led insurgency and to persuade some insurgents to negotiate with the Karzai government.
